accessories

If you thought that those ubiquitous selfie sticks (monopods, to be exact) and the idea of selfies in general are highly annoying, then you better brace yourself for the latest marriage of gadgets and “haute couture”. Yes, it is real: there is now a hat that will help you take selfies. Meet the Acer Selfie-Hat (what else would it be called), their latest creation made especially for the London Fashion Week.

Aside from producing smartphones, Japanese OEM Sony once upon a time also were pretty famous for their digital cameras. Now they’re merging the two once again as they announced the “rebirth” of their lens camera by introducing two new models: the QX30 and the E-mount QX1. The two can work on their own as high-powered cameras or they can be attached to your smartphone or tablet to give it a much needed megapixel boost.

Pictures of the new Sony ILCE-QX1 have leaked ahead of the reported official announcement tomorrow. If they are to be believed, the camera for smartphones will also now have the ability to support e-mount lenses. This would give serious mobile phone photographers the ability to take even better pictures without having a DSLR around.

Smartwatches (well most of them) are some of the prettiest gadgets that you can own. But if you think that the accessories to your accessory are a bit of a clunker, then you would agree with Aerios, a tech design firm from Australia, that even those things should be attractive in itself. The Moduul LG G Watch Charging Dock gets rid of the cheap and plastic accessories and replaces them with something more aesthetically-pleasing but still as effective as their ugly counterparts.

A gadget that unlocks your smartphone? Most of us would call that “our fingers” but Motorola believed that having a small and nifty gadget to quickly unlock your Moto X with a tap was something that their users needed. Hence the launch of the Moto X Skip sometime last year. It didn’t really set the market ablaze with its release but it looks like it’s going to get an upgrade of sorts, with Bluetooth connectivity and some other uses rather than just to unlock the phone.

With so many Bluetooth speakers available in the market, those who are not content with having a simple one would always look out for the most unique devices out there. The Om One Bluetooth speaker is ready to stand out from among the rest, as it has a levitating orb that would fascinate observers, while also providing sound quality that would rival the best ones out there.

As you cruise down the highway on your motorcycle, haven’t you ever wished that you could check out maps and important information without having to pull over to the side of the road and read an actual map or check your smartphone? Well, “the world’s smartest motorcycle helmet”, the Skully AR-1 is about to become a reality, bringing you a heads-up display (HUD), GPS navigation and a rearview camera to help you become more aware of your surroundings.

Google has had relatively good success over its Nexus products, building technologies and interfaces for devices on the bleeding edge of Android development. When it comes to accessories and whatnot, Google’s history has not been that great, and it has been trying to rectify that recently with the Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 (putting out different colors of cases for the devices). With the experimental Google Workshop, the company may be trying to break into that market a little bit more.

Right on the dot, OnePlus has revealed the availability of the first "textured" StyleSwap cover for the still elusive OnePlus One smartphone. Of course, that depends on how you define "availability", as this unique wooden cover is currently marked as out of stock, making it pretty much like the smartphone itself: unavailable.

If you’ve been wanting to get that SOL Republic headphones or that shiny new Samsung Gear Fit for some time now, but feel like it’s out of your budget, if you’re a T-Mobile subscriber, then your wish might soon come true. Starting July 20, accessories can now be bought under their equipment instalment plan (EIP), just like you would pay for a new smartphone or tablet.